At first glance it’s not a great menu of games this week, but we all know anything can happen. As the Big Ten hits the homestretch of the season, Michigan has a one-game lead in the title chase and the Wolverines should cruise in its two games this week. Michigan State sits one game out and Wisconsin trails by two. Can the Spartans and Badgers keep pace? Here’s a look at all the games this week. Don’t forget that our real-time scoreboards have times and TV info, too. 1. Iowa at Minnesota, Tues., Feb. 25: Two teams that have been

If you’re on Twitter, you can vote in our ongoing series of Big Ten Twitter polls for our weekday TV show #BTNLive weekdays at 6 p.m. ET. Tonight our experts discuss this question: Which Big Ten men’s hoops team do you think is the best right now? Your choices for this Twitter poll: #BTNMichigan, #BTNMSU, #BTNWisconsin, or #BTNIowa. Also tonight: Join Mike Hall, Stanley Jackson, Howard Griffith and Shon Morris. Spring Football is upon us. Which new coordinators face the biggest challenges? Jerry Kill got a raise, then said he’s paid too much. What do our experts think of coaches

First, a recap of the weekend’s games. But jump to the end for our take on the Big Ten’s best defensive players so far this season. Or as I’ve come to know it—Our Annual Solicitation of Hate Mail from Buckeye Fans. Let’s start things off with Michigan, shall we? The Wolverines took firm control of the conference race by completing their sweep of the in-state rival Spartans. The Wolverine offense—and Nik Stauskas in particular—could not be stopped in the second half. What has to make this loss burn even more is just how well Michigan State played at the other

On Monday, the 12 Big Ten men’s basketball coaches joined the Big Ten teleconference to take questions from the media. We’ve posted the audio for each coach on the call here, and will do so every Monday throughout the basketball season. Listen to coach Tom Crean: Listen to coach Fran McCaffery: Listen to coach John Groce: Listen to coach Chris Collins: Listen to coach Patrick Chambers: Listen to coach Matt Painter: Listen to coach Tom Izzo: Listen to coach Bo Ryan: Listen to coach John Beilein: Listen to coach Thad Matta: Listen to coach Richard Pitino: Listen to coach Tim

There were three Big Ten men’s hoops games on Saturday, highlighted by Wisconsin’s impressive 79-74 road win over Iowa. In other conference action, Indiana got a 61-56 road victory over Northwestern, and No. 24 Ohio State rallied and ran past Minnesota, 64-46. Catch up on all the scores, stats and in-game video highlights in this post. [ MORE: Enter our Trip to the Big Ten Tournament Sweepstakes! ] INDIANA 61, NORTHWESTERN 56 | RECAP | BOX | PLAY-BY-PLAY (AP) Indiana got scoring from five different players during an 18-4 run midway through the game, then held on for a 61-56

During the National Anthem prior to No. 15 Iowa’s game vs. No. 16 Wisconsin on Saturday, the fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena performed their inaugural card stunt. It all started with the fans forming an American flag and ended with them revealing “Hawks” on one side of the gym and “Rising” on the other. Hawks Rising is the team’s slogan this season. Watch the video in this post. VIDEO: Did you miss the @IowaHoops inaugural card stunt this morning? If so, it was good stuff. WATCH – http://t.co/ymuL7S2LlL — Iowa on BTN (@BTN_Iowa) February 22, 2014 https://twitter.com/TheIowaHawkeyes/status/437317880666152962 And here’s video of

If it’s Friday, it’s time for my survey. This week, I asked Big Ten media members who is the best dunker in the conference. A guy from Ohio State was a popular choice. [ MORE: Review and Preview: Badgers, Huskers riding streaks ] Ben Jones, StateCollege.com: Branden Dawson had some pretty impressive dunks prior to injury. With that in mind, I’ll go with D.J. Newbill who doesn’t have many but all of them have been impressive. His two dunks against Wisconsin on the road last year (here & here) are as good as you’ll see not in transition. Brian Neubert,

If you haven’t already made an appointment for the psychiatrist’s couch, do so. The craziness that is 2014 Big Ten basketball continues with plenty more to come. Keep that straightjacket handy. Here’s my weekly look back at what we just witnessed—with a peek ahead. THREE STOCKS TO BUY 1. Wisconsin. The Badgers started 16-0, then lost five of six games. To say that self-doubt crept into the mind of Bucky is an understatement. But since that funk, Wisconsin has won four in a row, including triumphs over the likes of Michigan State (home) and Michigan (away). Welcome back, Bucky! 2.

Before a very important weekend of games, let’s take a quick look at where Big Ten teams currently rank in KenPom relative to where they were ranked in the preseason. For those unfamiliar, Ken Pomeroy uses an objective system to come up with preseason rankings for every DI team. I’ll let Ken explain it: The system is largely the same as in recent seasons. It independently predicts a team’s adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. As a reminder, it uses information split into two categories: – Base level of the program. This takes into account the last five seasons of data for the

Illinois shocked Minnesota in the Barn on Wednesday, dealing a serious blow to the Gophers’ NCAA tournament hopes. Minnesota actually got off to a great start in this game, leading 14-3 after eight minutes, but it was all Illinois after that. The Gophers had a terrible night from the outside (4-for-25, 16 percent), and the turnovers mounted as they tried to make plays going to the basket. All told, the Illini held Minnesota to its lowest output of the season, and a big night from freshman Kendrick Nunn (19 points, 5-for-7 from three) was enough to carry the offense. Nnanna